LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




Samuel Gilman Brown, 

D. D., LL. D. 



•5)11 



a^^ 

}? 



3^'^ 



THS LIBRAIIY 
Of C OItOE «tt| 

WAtHIWOTOlf 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



The attention of "the Ckib " was called to 
the death of Eev. Dr. Samuel G. Bkowis^, at 
its first meeting held after that sad event oc- 
curred. The devotion of ex-President Browx to 
this circle, and the o-races and charms which he 
exhibited in connection with it, prompted his 
associates to wish to preserve a simple memorial 
of his membership and of the spirit which 
imbued it, and that end is best attained by some 
Is^of his own words. These pages contain a sketch 
of the history of '' the Club," in which his mastery 
of stvle and his oreniai o;low of thouscht are 
illustrated. 

Rev. Dr. Beowx w^as at home in "the 
Club." He became its guest in February, 1868, 
and met with it in that relation, accepted, 
however, and honored as a member without 
election, until he discovered the lack of that 
formality, when his certificate was voted to date 
from his first attendance. He enjoyed " the 
Club," as its members delighted in his presence. 
His wide range of reading and meditation, his 
acquaintance with the themes which occupy 



IIMTEODITCTOEY NOTE. 



men's minds and concern institutions and govern- 
ments, his familiarity with distinguished persons 
in many fields of labor, and his intimate con- 
versance with the best authors in prose and 
poetry, in our own and other toDgues, illustrated 
the ripeness of culture, the activity and scope of 
intellectual life, the fullness of manhood which 
we all recognize. 

His mastery of the Eno^lish lanj^uao^e was as 
;apparent in the informal talks of our little circle, 
as in his most elaborate productions, and it was 
the simple beauty and I'ichness of beaten gold 
at hand for daily use. His social and moral 
qualities were such as few attain. They were the 
expression of a soul unselfish, aspiring, true and 
worthy, taking thankfully tlie good in his 
fello\^s, generous but not blind to their faults, 
attuned to a perpetual melody of principle and 
thought and life. 

" Such harraouY is in immortal souls." 



IXTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



B.ev. Samuel Gilmax Brown, D. D., LL. D., 

son of Francis Brown, president of Dartmouth 
college, was l^orn in Xorth Yarmouth, Maine, 
January 4, 1818. He was graduated at Dart- 
mouth college in 1831, and at Andover Theolog- 
ical Seminary, in 1837. Professor of oratory in 
Dartmouth college from 1840 to 1863, he then 
assumed the chair of intellectual philosophy 
there. He was president of Hamilton college 
from 1866 to 1881. He died suddenly in Utica, 
November 4, 18&a: 5. 

" Only a step into the open air 
Out of a tent already luminous 
With light that shines through its transparent 
walls." 



[Printed for Members of the Ctxb Oxly] 



BRIEF SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF 

TT3 '' 



^'THE CLUB. 



Read before the Club November 11, 1879. 

It seems to me only too evident that the pleasant 
duty of preparing a brief record of the origin 
and life of the Club should have been assigned to 
some other member of it rather than to myself; 
to one of our number for example whose lifelong 
familiarity with Utica has led to the faithful and 
interesting record of its early inhabitants and its 
early customs; or to some other familiar from the 
first with every movement which has led to what 
the present members of the Club see and enjoy 
to-day. 

It is natural that persons of similar tastes and 
pursuits should meet for social enjoyment under 
conditions fitted to diminish the restraints of 
ordinary intercourse, and to increase the pleasures 
which intellio^ence, wit, humor and srood fellow- 
ship are pretty sure to bring with them. So 
have naturally spi'ung up among almost every 
cultivated people, certain associations, assemblies, 



^ it 



1-: 

.:& 7 3 A 



SAMUEL OILMAN BROW]S\ 



societies of persons brought together by elective 
affinities broad or narrow, for mutual enjoyment; 
sometimes simply for pleasure, sometimes for 
improvement; now for social delight or harmless 
folly, and then for serious work; sometimes for 
games of chance or skill, as of cards, or of chess, 
and sometimes for athletic sports, for foreign 
travel, or the climbing of mountains hitherto 
inaccessible. So variously does the social element 
of our nature assert itself, and on the whole,, 
with so much advanta^ie. 

The origin of the term Club is not quite clear, 
but its meaning is tolerably well defined. As 
those associations whose objects are grave and 
serious, the encouragement of industries, sciences 
and arts, are called societies and academies, so 
those associations where social pleasure or social 
convenience predominates, seem to take the more 
familiar name of Club. Dr. Johnson defines 
"Club" as '^an assembly of good fellows meeting 
under certain conditions." Of course this dis- 
tinction and definition are not absolute and 
without exception, and clubs for political and 
party ends, or for temporary and special purposes^ 
are not unknown in England or America. 

Of social clubs London, I presume, presents the 
greatest variety and the most splendid examples. 



THE CLUB. 



They are numbered by scores and perhaps by 
hundreds. I have before me a list of nearly fifty 
of these, the distinctive names, in many cases in- 
dicating their peculiar character and claims. The 
following are some of them. The Alpine; i^rmy 
and Navy; Athenaeum; City Liberal; Civil and 
United Service; East India United Service; 
Conservative; Garrick; Gresham ; Guards; 
Junior Army and Navy; Junior United Service; 
Naval and Military ; Oriental; Oxford and Cam- 
bridge; Keform ; Ti'avelers* ; Union; United 
Service; United University; Wanderers, etc., <fec. 
The number of members of each of these is 
limited, and varies from a few score to 2,500 and 
3,000. The election is by nomination, and a few 
black balls may exclude. The entrance fee 
varies from live guineas to forty, and the annual 
subscription from three to fifteen guineas. This 
insures only the privileges of the club house or 
rooms. Everything specially ordered is paid for 
at the time. The club houses are among the 
most conspicuous architectural structures of the 
metropolis. They are palaces in size, and the 
completeness and amplitude of their provision 
for the convenience and comfort of the membera 
could be possible only in a community of vast 
wealth, and practically of unlimited resources. 



10 SAMUEL aiLMAN BROWJ^. 

The social power of some of these clubs is 
immense, and they have sometimes played an 
important part among the unseen, intangible 
but mighty forces which modify or control 
human actions on the largest scale. A history 
of the clubs of London, if it could be 
written, would be among the most curious 
and interesting books in the world. In this 
country the attempt has been made to 
introduce and maintain similar associations, but 
with the exception of a few sustained by some 
patriotic, aesthetic or political motive, the attempts 
have had but moderate success. Whether from 
lack o^ sujperahundant wealth, or because we have 
no metropolis, like London or Paris, the common 
centre of social, political and commercial power, 
or from the stronger attraction of home, club-life 
being thought to be a decided antagonist to 
domestic enjoyment, or from lack of suitable mate- 
rial, or because the disparting and divergent forces 
are stronger than those of cohesion or gravitation, 
club-life of tliis hind^ seems to be with us rather 
like an exotic, to be cultivated w^ith care, under 
glass, (so to speak,) and looked at rather than used. 
Few of these clubs, however, of which I have 
spoken, depend upon or specially encourage social 
gatherings of their members. The social element, 



THE CLUB. 



11 



though powerful in its way, is found in the free 
and casual meetings, the feeling of equality 
and independence, and the certainty of general 
support which comes from similarity of tastes, 
and the union under a common roof and for com- 
mon ends. To be expelled from one of these 
great clubs, or to be requested to leave, involves 
a kind of social ostracism hard indeed to be borne. 

But clubs with less ambitious aims, and 
growing out of actual wants and living desires, 
among which we may class our own, are not 
unusual, liave many times proved their great 
advantage, and have sometimes lived and flour- 
ished through several generations. 

For my knowledge of the earliest days of our 
Club, I am dependent on the records which are, 
fortunately, quite full. It is a matter of gratifica- 
tion that we have present this evening, two of 
the four who on the 5th of January, 1866, met at 
the house of Dr. Bagg, "to confer on the pro- 
priety of forming a literary and philosophical 
society of a select and social nature.'' These two 
are our honored associates Dr. M. M. Bagg and 
Mr. Geo. C, Sawyer. The other three present 
at the first meeting were D. S. Heffron, Charles 
M. Davis and Dr. S. G. Wolcott. Besides these, 
four others had siornified their assent to the 



12 SAMUEL GILMAN BKOWI^. 

plaD. Although their names are not mentioned, 
they are believed to have been Ellis H. Roberts, 
Rev. Samuel M. Campbell, Robert S. Williams 
and Benjamin D. Gilbert. 

At this same first meeting Rev. Dr. Campbell, 
(then pastor of the Westminster church,) Col. E. 
Jewett, Robert S. Williams and Benjamin D. 
Gilbert were elected members in addition to the 
eight first invited. Of these Col. Jewett seems not 
to have joined the Club. At the second meeting, 
at the house of Mr. Sawyer, January 9th, 1866, there 
were present Messrs. Sawyer, Bagg, Davis,W^olcott, 
Campbell and Gilbert. A plan of association 
was presented by Dr. Bagg, according to previous 
appointment, and was adopted with amendments. 
The names and the only ones appended to the 
constitution are in the following order, evidently 
not in the order of their election. 



D. S. Heffron, 


Original 


Member 


, January 


5, 1866 


George C. Sawyer, 


a 


a 


January 


5, 1866 


Charles M.' Davis, 


u 


a 


January 


5, 1866 


Samuel G. Wolcott, 


a 


a 


January 


5, 1866 


Ellis H. Roberts, 






January 


9, 1866 


M. M. Bagg, 


u 


a 


January 


5, 1866 


Benj. D. Gilbert, 






January 


5, 1866 


Resigned, 


December 


1867. 






Samuel M. Campbell, 






January 


9, 1866 


John P. Gray, 






January 


16, 1866 



thp: club. 13 



A. G. Verrailyc, January 16, 1866. 

Jas. K. Hilchcoek, January 23, 1866. 

Wm. J. Bacon, January 23, 1866. 

J. Watson Williams, February 6,1866. 

Ward^Hunt, February 27, 1866. 

Samuel W. Fislier, November 2 7, 1866. 

John F. Seymour, January 7, 1868. 
Robert S. Williams. 

The following names complete the whole list 
of members so far as I can ascertain. 

Alex. S. Johnson, September 15, 1868. 

Alex. Seward, November 28, 1867. 

Erastus Clark, September 15, 1868. 

J)r. J. 11 Andrews, 

A. M. Bearddey, 

Milton H. Merwin, 

Isaac S. Hartley, 

Edward North, 

Francis G. Wood, 

W. E. Ford, 

S. G. Brown. 

At the second meeting above spoken of, 
January 9, 1866, a name was given to the Club, 
which many of the members will hear uow for 
the first time. It was called the '' Se'en Night 
Club." Of some men, of some States, the name 
only has survived, while they themselves have 
long been of the things that were. Of our society 
the name onlv has died, while the Club has 



14 SAMUEL OILMAN BROWN. 

grown in strength and honoi*. Perhaps the 
christening never fairly took place; or the titular 
designation was dropped for short, or the 
frequency of the meetings being changed it lost 
its appropriateness, or for other reasons the name 
fell into disuse and was finally lost altogether. 
I at least nev^er heard of it till I found it in the 
early records. 

At the meeting on the 16th of January, Ellis H. 
Roberts and Dr. John P. Gray, — the first, one of 
the original eight, and the second (the record 
says) an early preference of those attending the 
incipient meeting, but not then invited through 
fear lest his professional duties might prevent his^ 
attendance — were elected members, and also Dr. 
A. G. Vermilye. 

There is not time to mention in detail the 
several elections of members, but among the 
earliest are found James Watson Williams, 
Judge Ward Hunt, Mr. J. K. Hitchcock, Dr. S. 
W. Fisher, Mr. John F. Seymour, Mr. Alexander 
Seward and Mr. Erastus Clark. 

Among the early resolutions adopted by the 
Club, was one suggested by a delicate sense of 
propriety. It was offered by Mr. Heffron and 
was to this effect, that "all discussions and acts of 
this Club in reference to the election of its 



THE CLUB. 15 



members shall be kept strictly private." It 
would evidently be well always to bear this rule 
in mind. Not every good or learned or active 
citizen is " clubbable," to use Dr. Johnson's terra ; 
and it was early felt that while, for one cause or 
another, a pei'son proposed, however excellent and 
worthy in the main, might not be elected, it 
certainly would not be wise by any possibility 
to allow unfriendliness to be thereby engendered 
or encouraged. 

It may be proper to say here that the interest 
of the Club, and therefore to a considerable extent 
its prosperity, has depended a good deal upon the 
excellence of our several secretaries. The first of 
these was Dr. Bagg, and I need not say how full 
and satisfactory were the reports of those early 
meetings, on which I have mainly depended in 
preparing this sketch. In the history of the Club, if 
it ever is fully written, we shall not have to grope 
in the dark, or, like the early historians of our 
race, stumble along mistaking Angles for Jutes 
and Danes for Saxons, but the lines will be clear 
and complete. Dr. Bagg Avas followed by Mr. 
Sawyei', who seems to have set the example of 
complete reports of the discussions, giving to each 
individual speaker the full credit and full respons- 
ibility for his opinions, which has foiraed in the 



16 SAMUEL GILMATi BEOWX. 

judgment of many of us, no small part of the 
real value of the Club. 

On the 29th of October, 1867, I first find the 
clear chirography and careful report of a 
secretary whom we all honored, and who 
exalted his office, and spent his strength in thus 
perpetuating the tone and substance of our 
informal discussions. I refer, of course, to Mr. 
J. Watson Williams. Mr. W. seemed to enjoy 
that service^ laborious though it was, and excused 
himself, for the most part, from all other, that he 
might better serve us in this. Holding a ready 
pen, and writing with great distinctness, his 
records are more full and more readable than one 
can easilv find elsewhere. The reading of the 
Tecord, as some of us remember, occuj^ied no 
small part of the evening — extending as it some- 
times did over ten, twelve, or fifteen pages of fine, 
dear writing — but it took up time which might 
have been worse spent, and served as a review, 
and sometimes for the correction of opinions 
hastily expressed or imperfectly understood. 
That the preparation was a labor, though a labor 
'of love, no one can deny. It has always seemed 
to me a mistake that we did not carry to its 
completion the scheme of printing in full those 
earlier records, which certainly would have 



THE CLUB. 17 



furnished eacli member of the Club with a 
volume unique in character, and invested, for him 
at least, with a peculiar interest. 

It is superfluous to say that our secretaries 
who succeeded Mr. Williams have admirably 
performed their duties, and that the records w-ere 
remarkably complete, until the Club determined 
to shorten the reports or omit them altogether, so 
as to relieve the scribe of a labor which began to 
be too onerous. 

May I be permitted to mention here that the 
first meeting of the Club which I attended, as a 
guest, was ou the 4th of February, 1868, at the 
house of our honored associate eTudo-e Hunt I I 
well recollect, without recurrence to the record, 
the subject and the general course of thought on 
that occasion. The subject was involved in the 
question, ^' Who is the first of living poets?" 
and the answers, I can say without partiality, 
w^ere thoughtful and discriminating criticisms of 
the English and American poets of our own day, 
revealing a variety of judgments and probably 
not answering the question beyond doubt for all 
time to come. 

It will not be out oF place, I think, to 
mention the subjects discussed by the Club 



18 SAMUEL OILMAN BKOWN. 

at its earlier meetings. I take them in order 
from the first volume of the records. They 
were as follows: 

1. The Modern Standard of Education. 

2. Hamlet. [Showing the early allegiance of the Club 

to Shakspeare, an allegiance which has been held 
without abatement till the present hour.] 

3. Physiognomy. 

4. The Lecture System and its Uses. 

5. What distance of time from great historical events is 

the period to record best their incidents and 
results ? 

6. The Moral Se)itiments of Shakspeare. 
1. Female Education. 

8. The Uses of Fiction. 

9. National Wit. 

10. The Position of Edmund Burke in History. 

11. The Character, History and Destiny of the X. A. 

Indians. 

12. Is the English Language Deteriorating? 

13. Macbeth. 

14. The Good and the Evil of the Fi-ench Revolution. 

15. Lord Bacon ; his Position in History. 

16. Life and Character of Napoleon III. 

17. The Bank of Macaulay as an Historian. 

18. Epistolary Composition; its position in literature and 

its best examples. 

19. Falstaff as a Representative of Character. 

20. What is the true principle of Suffrage in a Republican 

Government? 

21. Oliver Cromwell. 



THE CLUB. 19 



22. King Lear. 

23. Diaries and Autobiographies. 

24. Laurence Sterne. 

25. The Drama. 

26. Dreams. 

27. Somnambulism. 

28. The Eastern Question. 

29. Newspapers. 

30. OtheUo. 

31. The Three Epics. 

32. Jlilton. 

33. The Natural Objects and Scenery of the greatest 

interest in the United States. 

34. Goldsmith. 

35. The Disposal of the Dead; embracing Funeral Rites 

and Burial Places. 

36. New England Puritanism. 

37. Charles Dickens. 

38. American Antiquities. 

39. The Italian Question. 

40. Who is the First of Living Poets? February 4, 1868. 

41. The Leading Mind of the xA.merican Revolution. 

42. The Art Gallery. March 3, 1868. 

43. Thi Merchant of Venice, March 17, 186 8. 
[The catalogue of subjects will be found continued on page 25.] 

The forly-three subjects discussed during the 
first two years of the life of the Club, suggest the 
influences at work and some of their necessary 
results. A complete catalogue of subjects, which 
I hope to add to those just named, w^ll show still 



20 SAMUEL OILMAN BROWTsT. 

more fully the range of thought whicli our 
meetings have led us over. 

During these thirteen years which have nearly 
passed since the four wise men presided over its 
birth, the Club has maintained itself with spirit 
and advantage. With the exception of a single 
wintei*, when, for many reasons the meetings were 
fewer and the attendance smaller than usual, there 
has been no lack of interest or efficiency. We 
have come to our fortnightly gatherings with an 
eager spirit, and if I may judge others by myself, 
have never left them w^ithout a sense of advantage. 
We have looked upon men and things through 
many eyes. Our curiosity has been both stimulated 
and gratified and subjects apparently barren have 
more than once proved fruitful topics of inquiry 
and rich with practical good. Of late we have 
perhaps given greater attention to what may be 
called the literary or sesthetic element in our 
meetings — to a careful preparation by reading and 
observation, for a sound discussion of the subjects, 
and have, of course, secured individually more 
valuable results. 

It may at some time be thought worthy of 
^consideration, whether considering the probability 
of the absence of some, we might not enlarge our 
number somewhat without en d answer in c>: the social 



THE CLUB. 21 



and familiar element whicli constitutes a great 
charm of our gathering. 

[It was found on inquiry that this had been 
done, raising the number from fifteen to eighteen, 
not including honorary members.] 

May I be allowed here to interpolate a little 
piece of private information ? There is one mem- 
ber of the CJub, — he hopes and thinks he may 
call himself so, — who has never, to his know^ledge^ 
passed through the ordeal of an election. He 
first came into it by courtesy and private invita- 
tion, and soon by a kind of tacit consent found 
himself somehow named among the members, by 
no effort of his, certainly, but greatly to his 
pleasure. So by the strange necromancy of 
elective afiinity, he grew to the new place as if 
it had been always his. As nature sometimes 
takes the place of art, and the wild olive branchy 
througli pressure and friction, begins to send its 
living filaments into old stock, and to receive the 
juices of another life, so he has found himself, 
through the sleepless, ever-acting forces of social 
enjoyment and intellectual culture, growing into 
closer and closer union with the Club. ISTor has 
any one, so far as his knowledge goes, attempted 
to arrest this vital process, or to sever this branch 
from a connection that has been so beneficent. 



22 SAMUEL GILMAX BEOWN. 

The Club is evidently conservative. It holds 
itself a little in reserve : is not to be approached 
in too great a hurry: does not "wear its heart 
upon its sleeve for daws to peck at ;" and appears 
sometimes as hard to find and enter as the garden 
of the Hesperides. The way to it is as dark and 
doubtful as the light w^ithin is brilliant, the scene 
fair, and the entertainment all that heart can 
wish. 

The Club is no mutual • admiration society. 
Our very differences attract us. Independent in 
expressing opinion, and fearless of giving offense, 
because of honesty of conviction and of purpose, 
restrained only by the law^s of courtesy, charity 
and good fellowship, each indulges his own 
idiosyncracies and nobody is the worse. 

And yet the Club is wisely liberal. It seeks to 
have of all kinds provided they be good kinds. 
We have variety of age, profession and habit of 
life. We of the high church are not afraid of 
our brother of the lower order, and we who are 
free duly sympathize with our brethren who are 
in bonds as bound with them. We who are 
good democrats do not despise our republican 
friends because of their political blindness, and 
we good republicans still believe that our 
brothers of the democratic persuasion may be 



THE CLUB. 23 



saved, though it be as by fire; we who rejoice in 
the culture and refinement of this renowned 
city look kindly upon our friends from the rural 
districts, and we who enjoy the clear air of the 
Oneida hills have sufficient compassion for those 
who can see nothing but bricks and pavements. 



I have thus very briefly and imperfectly 
sketched some of the events in the history of the 
Club, and suggested some of its salient character- 
istics ; of the Club, for as we speak of tlie Sun so 
we speak of the Club, as of something which has 
no rival and no second. Whether it were better 
to liave a name, a new name, since the old so soon 
was forgotten, it is not necessary now to consider. 
That the Club has been of adv^antage great and 
various, to the members of it, judging from my 
own experience, is undoubted. It has made us, I 
hope, more intelligent observers of many things, 
more diligent investigators of truth ; has brought 
many subjects to our notice which, otherwise, we 
should never have thought of; has inspired us to 
read and study ; has helped us to correct some 
mistakes ; has made us more gentle and tolerant ; 
lias positively increased our social enjoyments ; 



24 SAMUEL GILMAN BROW^. 

has been a real solace in the hurrv and trouble 
of daily life ; has stored our minds with pleasant 
memories, has brought us into closer connection 
with many friends, by whom we have been 
cheered, and whom we, in turn, have in some 
degree pleased and helped, and so in countless 
ways it has done us good. All this and much 
more it has done for me. The recollection of the 
past, I am glad to think, I can never lose, and I 
shall deeply regret the hour whenever it may 
come, when I shall be compelled to give up my 
place in this cheerful and honored society. 

I may add, I think, a word further. The good 
influences of the Club have extended far beyond 
ourselves. It has not been unfelt by our families, 
nor by those associated with them. It has had 
some influence even upon the good name of the 
city itself Distinguished strangers from abroad, 
men of letters, jurists, and gentlemen of attain- 
ments and culture, have repeatedly been present 
at our symposium, and I trust have generally 
carried away a pleasant impression of the refine- 
ment and intelligence of the town. We have 
done something for the good name of the city at 
large. What this beautiful town needs, and 
almost the only thing to give it an unrivalled 
fame among all the inland cities of the State is^ 



THE CLUB. 25 



within its boundaries or near to them a college or 
university of high endowments with all which 
that implies. But without that, or with its 
college a little too distant for the most active 
interchange of influences, a literary and social 
club like ours may minister largely to its intel- 
lectual good, may at least, plant germs which will 
hereafter spring and grow to overshadowing trees, 
of which others will eat the fruit — may start 
influences which will be more widely beneficent 
than we have ever conjectured. 

When the Club ceases to produce au}^ of these 
good results, private or public, its end may well 
come, but till then may it flourish with even 
increasing vigor, and those who take our places 
still better accomplish the 23urposes for which it 
was founded. 

CATALOGUE OF SUBJECTS 

Discussed at Meetings of the Club, Continued from Page 19. 

44. The Character of American Lit- 

erature, March 31, 1868. 

45. Hawthorne, April 14, 1868. 

46. Washington and Napoleon, April 28, 1868. 

47. The Humorists of the English 

Language, May 19, 1868. 



26 SAMUEL OILMAN BROWIN^. 

48. Political Morality, past and pres- 

ent, September 15, 1868. 

49. Queen Elizabeth, September 29, 1868. 

50. The History and Men of Oneida 

County, October 20, 1868. 

51. The same continued, October 28, 1868. 

52. Shal'speare's Richard III, November IV, 1868. 

53. Lord Brougham, December 15, 1868. 

54. Spain, its past, present and proba- 

ble future, December 21, 1868. 

55. The Influence on America of the 

different Immigrant Races, December 29, 1868. 

5Q. Hallacinations, January 12, 1869. 

57. The Antiquity of Man, February 2,1869. 

58. The Causes of the Greatness of 

Great Britain, and the Proba- 
bility of its Continuance, February 16, 1869. 

59. The Unity of the Human Race, March 2, 1869. 

60. Julius Ccesm\ April 6, 1869. 
6 ] . The jSow'ces and Extent ofShaks- 

peare's Inspiration^ April 28, 1869. 

62. Origin, Peculiarities and Influ- 

ence of the Quakers, May 4, 1869. 

63. Charles Lamb, May 18, 1869. 

64. Lord Byron, September 14, 1869. 

65. Daniel Webster, September 29, 1869. 

66. Thomas Carlyle, October 12, 1869. 

67. Effects of Climate on National 

Character, November 2, 1869. 

68. Sir Walter Scott, November 23, 1869. 

69. The Darwinian Theory, November 30, 1869. 

70. Cardinal Wolsey, December 14, 1869. 



THE CLUB. 27 



8, 


1870. 


22, 


1870. 


5, 


1870. 


19, 


1870. 


3, 


1870. 


18, 


1870. 


1, 


1870. 



71. Voltaire, December 28, 1869. 

72. The Porte Royalists, January 18,1870. 

73. TheBibleintheCoQimon Schools, January 26,1870. 

74. Thackeray, February 8, 1870. 

75. TJie Tempest, February 22, 1870. 

76. The Present Position of France, March 

77. Witchcraft, March 

78. Robert Burns, April 

79. John Bunyan, April 

80. Xational and Social Amuse- 

ments, May 

81. The Huguenots, October 

82. Socialism, November 
%'^. The Merits of the War between 

France and Russia, November 15, 1870. 

84. Loyola and the Jesuits, November 29, 1870. 

85. Madame de Stael, and Female In- 

fluence on Literature, December 13, 1870. 

86. William Cowper and his Writ- 

ings, January 11, 1871. 

87. The Age of Lorenzo, January 24, 1871. 

88. San Domingo, February 7, 1871. 

89. Chatham and Pitt, February 21, 1871. 

90. Charles James Fox, March 9, 1871. 

91. 3Iidsinnmer NigMs Bream, March 21, 1871. 

92. Parliameutary Oratory of the 

time of Pitt and Fox, com- 
pared with til at of the present 
day, April 4, 1871. 

93. Superstitions, April 18, 1871. 

94. Labor and Capital, May 2, 1871. 

95. L'ishmen, May 16, 1871. 



28 SAMUEL GILMAN BEOWN. 



96. Misses Edge worth, Bronte, Aus- 

tin, and George Eliott, October IV, 1871. 

97. Martin Luther, October 31, 1871. 

98. Conversation, Koveraber 14, 1871. 

99. The Connection of Art and Reli- 

gion, Xovember 28, 1871. 

100. History and Effect cf Immigra- 

tion on this Country, December 11,1871. 

101. The Genius of the Greeks, January 9,1872. 

102. Civil Service Reform, .January 23, 1872. 

103. The International Society and the 

Commune, - February 6, 1872. 

104. Egypt, February 20, 1872. 

105. Benjamin Franklin, March 19, 1872. 

106. Wordsworth, April 3, 1872. 

107. Municipal Reform, April 30, 1872. 

108. Socrates, November 12, 1872. 

109. Trial by Jury, November 26, 1872. 

110. The Age of Queen Anne, December 10, 1872. 

111. Erasmus, December 23, 1872. 

112. Coleridge, January 7, 1873. 

113. The Prevailing Tendencies of 

the Age towards Republics or 

Constitutional Monarchies, February 4, 1873. 

114. Fronde, February 18,1873. 

115. The Genius of the Romans, March 4, 1873. 

116. The Wesley s and Methodism, March 18,1873. 

117. The Force of the Individual in 

History, April 1, 1873. 

118. Capital Punishment, April 14, 1873. 

119. The Influence of Corporations, April 29,1873. 

120. Aristotle, December 2, 1873. 



THE CLUB. 29 



January 


6, 1874. 


January 


21, 1874. 


February 


3, 1874. 


February 


17, 1874. 


March 


3, 1874. 


3Iarcli 


17, 1874. 


March 


31, 1874. 


April 


14, 1874. 


October 


27, 1874. 



121. The Man Shaksjyeare, December 17,1873. 

122. The Capture of the "Virginias," January 

123. Cicero, 

124. A Postal Telegraph, 

125. Dreams, 

126. American Xovelists, 

127. The Civil Rights Bill, 

128. Chaucer, 
.129. Millard Fillmore and Charles 

Sumner, 

130. Plato, 

131. Greek Art and Italian, November 10, 1874. 

132. Tyndali's Materialism, November 24, 1874. 

133. Grote and Guizot as Historians, December 15,*1874. 

134. Free Trade, December 29,1874. 

135. The Ccesar of History and of 

/Shakspeare, January' 12, 1875. 

136. Count Cavour and his \Yorks, January 25, 1875. 

137. Com23ulsory Education, February 9,1875* 

138. Are Republican Institutions fa- 

vorable to the Highest Intel- 
lectual Development of the 
Individual? February 23, 1875. 

139. Newspapers, March 9, 1875. 
3 40. The Influence of Climate on the 

Development of National Char- 
acter, March 23, 1875. 

141. Budha and Budhism, April 6, 1875. 

142. Leaders of American Thought, 

(not including the living,) April 20, 1875. 

143. Womanhood in Shakspeare, May 14, 1875. 



4, 


1876, 


18, 


1876. 


8, 


1876. 


22, 


1876. 



30 samup:l oilman brown. 

144. George Eliot and Charlotte 

Bronte, November 23, 1875. 

145. The State of Morals during the 

American Revolution, December 7, 1875. 

146. The Influence of Modern Civili- 

zation on the Physical Condi- 
tion of the Hace, December 21, 1875. 

147. England under the Common- 

wealth, January 

148. Morris and Swinburne, January 

149. Estimates of the Ablest Men we 

have i^ersonally known, February 

150. Same subject continued, February 

151. Ought an intelligent Englishman 

to advocate a Republic for 
Great Britain ? March 

152. The Loyalists and Tories of the 

American Revolution, March 

153. The Comic Element in Shaks- 

peare, April 

154. Conversation, (second time,) April 

155. Should Office Holders be allowed 

to take part in Elections or 
Caucuses ? May 

156. The Need of a Library for L'tica, 

and the Mode of procuring it, November 14, 1876. 

157. The Centennial Exhibition as an 

Educator, December 12, 1876. 

158. The Relations and Duties of 

Christian to non-Christian 

peoples, December 26, 1876. 

Note by Dr. Brown. — By a rougli distribution : Literary Sub- 
jects, 52, (on Shakspeare, 16.) Historical and Biographical, 42. 
Scientific, 11. Miscellaneous, 53. 



7, 


1876. 


21, 


1876. 


4, 


1876. 


25, 


1876. 


9, 


1876. 



THE CLUB. 31 



159. The Russian Empire, January 9, 1877. 

160. Macaulay, January 23, 1877. 

161. Mahomet and the Turks, February 6, 1877. 

162. Tennyson, February 20, 1877. 

163. Superstition, March 20, 1877. 

164. Schlieman and his Discoveries, April 3,1877. 

165. Dante, April 17, 1877. 

166. Cervantes, N'ovember 13, 1877. 

167. The Ancient Races of America, Xovember 27, 1877. 

168. The Silver Question, December 19, 1877. 

169. Humboldt, January 9, 1878. 

170. De Quincy, .January 23, 1878. 

171. Modern Historical Science, October 29, 1878. 

172. Xew York as a Colony, November 12, 1878. 

173. The Historic Worth of Shahs- 

peare^s plays ^ November 26, 1878, 

174. The last Work or Article that 

has interested the speaker, December 10, 1878, 

175. Beaconsfield, January 7, 1879. 

176. Socialism, January 21, 1879. 

177. The Greek Tragedies, February 4, 1879. 

178. The best English Prose-writer of 

the present Generation, February 18, 1879. 

179. Influence of the Crusades, March 1], 1879. 

180. British Rule in India, March 25, 1879. 

181. The Hebrew Elements in Poetry, April 15, 1879. 

182. The Chinese Question, April 29,1879. 

183. Republicanism in France, November 25, 1879. 

184. Conscience, Its Nature and Laws, December 10,1879. 

185. The Religion of bhakspeare^ January 20,1880. 

186. Inspiration, February 3, 1880. 

187. Metternich's Memoirs, P^bruary 17,1880. 



32 SAMUEL GILMA]Sr BROWN. 

188. The Bonnets of Shakspeare^ March 2,1880. 

189. The Humorists of the English 

Language, March 17, 1880 

190. Nihilism, November 9, 1880 

191. Charles James Fox, November 23, 1880, 

192. Nature and Law, December 7,1880 

193. The L-ish Question: TheTlemedy 

for Ireland, December 21, 1880 

194. The Politics of Shalcsjyeare, January 18,1881 

195. The Government and Railroads, February 1, 1881 

196. The Rights of Prisoners and the 

treatment of them, February 15, 1881 

197. Goethe, March 1,1881 

198. The Human and Brute Mind, March 15, 1881 

199. The Townsriij) as an Element in 

Political Development, April 12, 1881 

:200. Tliomas Carlyle, November 15, 1881 

201. English Surnames, November 29, 1881 

202. Heroes and Hero Worship, December 20, 1881 

203. The Permanent in Literature, January 10, 1882 

204. Assassinations and their Histor- 

ical Significance, January 24, 1882 

.205. French Literature of the Seven- 





teenth Century, 


February 


18, 


1882. 


.206. 


Delusions, 


February 


22, 


1882. 


207. 


Cities and their Influences, 


March 


"*, 


1882. 


.208. 


Characters of Macbeth 


and 








Lady Macbeth, 


March 


28, 


1882. 


209. 


Arctic Explorations, 


April 


19, 


1882 


210. 


Christian Missions in their 
tion to Commerce, Art 


rela- 
and 








Literature, 


November 14, 


1882 



THE CLUB. 33 



211. 


Clay, Calhoun and Webster, 


November 28, 1882. 


212. 


Herbert Spencer and his Social 






Statics, 


December 


12, 1882. 


213. 


Gladstone, 


January 


2, 1883. 


214. 


Education by the State, 


January 


16, 1883. 


215. 


The American Novel of 


the 






present day, and How 


^ells' 






especially. 


February 


6, 1883. 


216. 


Labor and Strikes, 


February 


20, 1883. 


217. 


What is the Present Greatest 






Need of Utica, 


March 


5, 1883. 


218. 


Church Architecture, 


March 


21, 1883. 


219. 


Mexico, 


April 


10, 1883. 


220. 


The Tempest and JIacheth 


con- 






sidered in relation to 


the 






intellecttial change of their 






author, 


Novembei 


13, 1883. 


221. 


Sir Philip Sydney, 


November 27, 1883. 


222. 


Emigration or Movements 


of 






Peoples, 


December 


12, 1883. 


223. 


Protective Tarift; 


January 


8, 1884. 


224. 


Matthew Arnold, 


January 


22, 1884. 


225. 


The Expansion of England, 


February 


5, 1884. 


226. 


Benjamin Franklin, 


February 


19, 1884. 


227. 


Marcus Aurelius, 


March 


11, 1884. 


228. 


Trial by Jury, 


March 


25, 1884. 


229. 


"The Coming Slavery" 


and 






" New Toryism ; " Essays 


of 






Spencei-, 


April 


29, 1884. 


230. 


John Bright, 


November 


18, 1884. 


231. 


The proper Functions of Gove 


jrn- 





2, 1884. 



34 



SAMUEL OILMAN BROWN. 



232. 


The African Problem in the 








South, December 


16, 


1884. 


233. 


The Silver Question, December 


30, 


1884. 


234. 


The Isthmian Canal, January 


20, 


1885. 


235. 


The Adirondack Question, February 


3, 


1885. 


236. 


Some Disadvantages of the 








License of the Modern Press, February 


1', 


1885. 


237. 


Thomas a Becket, March 


3, 


1885. 


238. 


The Freedom of Worship Bill, March 


n, 


1885. 


239. 


The Egyptian Question, March 


31, 


1885. 


240. 


The Worship of Shaks2^€ar€, April 


21, 


1885. 


24]. 


Egyptian Mummies, November 


24, 


1885. 


242. 


The Servian and Bulgarian War, December 


8, 


1885. 


243. 


Robert Browning, December 


29, 


1885. 


244. 


Civil Service, January 


5, 


1886. 


245. 


The Revocation of the Edict of 







Nantes, January 



19, 1886. 



COMPLETE ROLL OE MEMBERS. 



Prof. George C. Sawyer, 
f Prof. D. S. Heffron, Present at the meeting for 

* Charles M. Davis, y organization, held January 
*Pr. S. G. Wolcott, I 5, 1866. 

Dr. M. M. Bagg, J 

Ellis H. Roberts, not present 

at first meeting, January 5, 1886. 

fRev. Samuel M. Campbell, Elected January 5, 1866. 

Robert S. Williams, Elected January 5, 1866. 

J Benjamin D. Gilbert, Elected January 5,1866. 

Dr. John P. Gray, Elected January 16, 1866. 

fRev. A. G. Yermilye, D. D., Elected January 16, 1866. 

Hon. William J. Bacon, Elected January 23, 1866. 

f James K. Hitchcock, Elected January 23, 1866. 

* J. Watson Williams, Elected February 6, 1866. 
fHon. Ward Hunt, Elected February 27, 1866. 

* Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, D.D., Elected November 27, 1866. 
I Alexander Seward, Elected March 28, 1867, 

John F. Seymour, Elected January 7, 1868. 
*Rev. Samuel G. Brown, D. D., 

LL. D,, February 4 

Erastus Clark, Elected September 15 

*Hon. Alexander S. Johnson, Elected February 7 

f Dr. Judson B. Andrews, Elected December 17 

Arthur M. Beardsley, Elected December 17 

Francis G. Wood, Elected December 17 



1868. 
1868. 
1871. 
1873. 
1873. 
1873. 



36 



EOLL OF MEMBERS. 



Rev. I. S. Hartley, D. 


D., 


Elected December 


21, 


1875. 


Hon. M. H. Merwin, 




Elected February 


8, 


1876. 


11 Prof. Edward North, 




Elected January 


21, 


1878. 


Dr. Willis E. Ford, 




Elected October 


29, 


1878. 


Prof. Francis M. Burdick, 


Elected Xovember 


23, 


1880. 


Joseph R. Swan, 




Elected November 


23, 


1880. 


Rev. Thomas J. Brown, 


,D.D. 


, Elected November 


23, 


1880. 


Charles D. Adams, 




Elected Januarj^ 


2, 


1883. 


Prof. A. H. Chester, 




Elected January 


16, 


1883. 


W. Stuart Walcott, 




Elected December 


2, 


1884. 


Abbott Foster, 




Elected December 


2, 


1884. 


Rev. John H. Egar, D 


.D., 


Elected December 


16, 


1884. 



* Deceased ; f Removed from the citv ; J Resigned ; | Elected 
Honorary Member. 



RULES OF THE CLUB. 



The customary mode of procedure of the Club, 
determined in part by the few rules adopted at 
its origin, and in part the result of later resolu- 
tions and practices, is as follows : 

The number of members is not to exceed 
twenty-one. In case of a vacancy any member 
may name a candidate for admission ; at the next 
ensuino^ meetino- a ballot is held on such nomina- 
tion, and if the candidate receives the unanimous 
vote of the members present he is declared 
elected; a candidate not receiving the unani- 
mous vote can not be ballotted for a second time, 
except after a new nomination and a subsequent 
ballot. 

The Clul) meets once a fortnis^ht durino; the 
winter months, beginning the first Tuesday after 
the State elections, and closing about the middle of 
April. The hour of assembling is seven and 
one-half p. m., that of organization fifteen min- 
utes of eio;ht. The nieetino:s are held in rota- 
tion at the houses of the meml)ers, proceeding 
alphabetically. 



88 EULES OF THE CLUB. 

The member who is the host of the evening 
presides as its chairman. He also notifies in 
advance each member of the time, place and 
topic of the meeting at which he is thus to 
preside. 

A secretary, wlio is elected annually, keeps a 
record of each meeting, including the place where 
it is held, the names of those present, the topic 
discussed, the one agreed on for future discussion, 
the place where the next meeting is to be held, 
together with miscellaneous proceedings if any 
such be had.* 

At each meeting after the reading of the 
minutes by the secretary, the discussion of the 
evening is proceeded with. The chairman calls 
on each member to speak, the order being deter- 
mined by the order of appearance of the respective 
names when drawn from a vase or other receptacle. 
No member is allowed to speak more than ten 
minutes until all of those present have been called 
on, including the host should he wish to speak. 
And with all the privilege of speaking is wholly 
optional. 

*For several years the secretary recorded at considerable length, 
not merely the tenor of the discussions, but the remarks of each of 
the speakers, and these were read at the meeting next ensuing; this 
practice has been of late abandoned. 



RULES OF THE CLUB. 39 

At ten p. M. an entertainment is proffered, at 
which time the discussion is commonly closed. 
After the supper a subject is agreed on for the 
meeting to be held a month later; any member 
beiog allowed to propose one, which is then 
submitted to the approval of the majority 
present. 

Miscellaneous business, if any should arise, 
including nominations and ballottings, concludes 
the exercise. 



11^^'- 



